Who would have thought that the first Seattle company to launch a viable iPad competitor would be not Microsoft, but Amazon? The Kindle Fire, announced this morning, is the industry’s latest attempt to make a dent in Apple’s popular tablet. And there are many reasons Amazon is in a better position than any others to […]
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Now that Microsoft has given us a much more detailed look at Windows 8 and its plans for tablets, the analyses are starting to come in. Gartner Research, for one, predicts Microsoft will capture 10 percent of the tablet market by the end of 2015. By that time, Apple’s iPad will command the market with […]
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Not only is the desktop completely redesigned in Windows 8, so is the infamous Blue Screen of Death. Most people know the Blue Screen of Death, or BSoD, pops up whenever Windows encounters a critical error. It’s the bane of all Windows users, yet it is a necessary evil. The operating system shuts down to […]
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The Houston Chronicle’s Dwight Silverman writes: “Just before I dashed off to Microsoft’s Build conference last week, I asked TechBlog readers if they had questions they’d like answered about Windows 8. You had quite a few. Some were answered in last week’s blog posts. Now that the hoopla is over and the dust has settled, […]
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Smart phones have been taking a big bite out of the portable gaming industry, forcing companies like Nintendo and Sony to push down prices and scramble for exciting new products. The Apple iPad, with its bigger screen, is raising the stakes higher – 71 percent of iPad users play games, analysis firm Interpret said today. […]
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By now we’re all used to advertisements on our smart phones and tablets – it’s the tradeoff we accept for using free apps instead of premium versions. Yet one of the side effects of Microsoft’s making Windows 8 for both tablets and personal computers is that those ad-supported apps will make their way onto our […]
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The Houston Chronicle’s Dwight Silverman reports: “I launched the Metro version of Internet Explorer 10, logged into my Netflix account and clicked on an episode. But instead of the show, I got a prompt to install Silverlight, the Microsoft-created plug-in that Netflix requires to stream video to a browser. However, it turns out that Microsoft […]
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Office is one big reason (there are many) Microsoft is keeping the traditional desktop as an option in Windows 8, which will put the Metro interface front and center. But the company also is looking at giving its cash-cow productivity software a new look. Asked whether Microsoft is developing a Metro-style version of Office for […]
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The Houston Chronicle’s Dwight Silverman reports: “There’s little doubt that Microsoft has won lots of positive buzz for its early look at Windows 8 – but that excitement is leavened with a dash of caution. Everyone I’ve spoken with here at the Build Conference in Anaheim is enthusiastic about the next version of Windows, but […]
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